“Skilled trades” refer to occupations that require specialized training and technical expertise in areas such as construction, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and welding. A new analysis shows the critical role that skilled trades play in Hawaiʻi’s economy and their impact on the state’s infrastructure development, maintenance, and repair today and into the future.
In total, the trades comprise 8 percent of the state workforce with 58,000 jobs, a number projected to exceed 75,000 by 2028. The average salary for these jobs is $67,000 and most offer on-the-job training that provides upward mobility for students that enter the trades right after high school. This is also a sector with a growing number of jobs that provides skills transferable to new industries like clean energy.
Despite the promise, the trades face real challenges right now as the current workforce ages and young people are often academically or emotionally unprepared for the road ahead. The Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, in partnership with the Harry & Jeannette Weinberg Foundation, recruited community-based nonprofit partners, trade and membership associations, employers and training institutions that work in at least one of the skilled trades referenced in the report.
The goal behind this project was two-fold:
- Increase access of young, diverse tradespeople, particularly from underrepresented and rural communities
- Build sustainable infrastructure to cultivate more job-ready tradespeople
Congratulations to the following organizations that were selected for this opportunity:
- Associated Builders and Contractors “Building Hawaii Together”. This trade association representing 200 members across the state will increase the number of youth pre-qualified for accelerated entry into several state-approved apprenticeship programs, specifically carpentry, plumbing, and HVAC. Specifically, they will run 21 cohorts of 10-15 students each (split between Oahu, Hawaii island and Maui) who will complete 8 modules on basic construction safety, and introduce topics like construction math, hand and power tools, and basic employability skills.
- Honolulu Community College’s Summer CTE Academy. This trade-focused community college plans to run a 6-week summer academy for high school juniors to explore three trades across two weeks each. Priority trades include carpentry technology, welding, automotive technology, diesel mechanics technology, architectural engineering, and occupational and environmental safety management. 200 students will be recruited from Windward and Leeward regions of Oahu, with priority outreach to young women.
- Building Industry Association (BIA) Foundation Hawaii’s Green Community Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training Program. This trade association plans to run two cohorts for twelve and eight students ages 17-24 to participate in a paid pre-apprenticeship that covers carpentry, plumbing and HVAC. Funds will be used to provide participant stipends, instructor fees, books and supplies, transportation to the job site, and recruitment. Training will run for six weeks and pair classroom learning with hands-on skill development with an emphasis on green principles and sustainable practices within the industry.
- Marimed Foundation’s Sea Apprenticeship and Leadership Training. This Kaneohe-based nonprofit wants to introduce high school seniors from area schools to the various careers that make up the maritime industry through a five-month curriculum and several USGS certifications. This program has long been offered to older youth and will provide guest speakers from the industry and unions, training on maritime subjects and hands-on projects aboard the Foundation’s 96-foot vessel, the SS Makani Olu.
- Makaha Cultural Learning Center’s Sustainability Through Renewable Impact-Driven Vocational Education. This 10-year-old nonprofit has long offered training to Leeward residents in the trades and sees a major opportunity to expand these offerings to solar panel installation and maintenance. They propose a 100-hour training program to two cohorts of approximately 40 youth each, drawing on long standing relationships at Waianae and Nanakuli High Schools.
- Hawaii Electricians Training Fund’s pre-apprenticeship program. This Fund runs a five-year apprenticeship program resulting in highly paid electrician jobs. To combat high dropout rates, the Fund proposes to run a pre-apprenticeship ‘interim credential’ comprised of 5 courses over a 6-12 month time period. Students that complete will be provided direct entry to the apprenticeship along with up to a year of credit towards completion.
- Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum’s High School Aircraft Maintenance Certification Program. This request was to run a full training program with high school seniors alongside Hawaiian Airlines. The need is clear and our selection committee found their ambition exciting, but determined what they are trying to do is simply too complex to pull off without further planning work. We do want to encourage their ambition, however, and think a modest planning grant sends a message of support while giving them time to develop stronger partnerships with area high schools and Honolulu Community College to deploy early college coursework, basic math/science preparation, and identify faculty.